Order it against the job. Receive what actually showed up.
Appello writes supplier purchase orders against the job, priced from what that supplier charges you. Email the PO to the supplier as a PDF, then receive each delivery as it lands: what came, what was damaged, and what is still on back order. Good stock goes straight to the job or into your warehouse, and the PO status updates itself. It is built for insulation, mechanical and electrical subcontractors, and it is live in Appello today.
Construction purchase order software: how it works
Write the PO from the supplier's prices
Pick the supplier and the job. Each line comes from that supplier's prices in your material catalog, so the size, unit and cost fill in together. Every PO gets the next SPO number, and the total adds itself up.
Say where it is going
Deliver to the job site, or to a warehouse, van or staging area. Add terms, the shipping method and an expected delivery date for the whole order or for a single line.
Issue it and send it
Issuing a PO is its own permission, so you decide who can commit the company's money. Email it from Appello: the supplier contact fills in as the first recipient, and each recipient gets a secure link to the PDF. You can also download the PDF.
Receive what came off the truck
Once the PO is issued, record each delivery as a numbered receipt with the packing slip. Enter what arrived and what was damaged, line by line. One truck carrying three POs from the same supplier is received in one pass. The PO moves to Partially Received or Received on its own.
A normal week with it
- Monday
The PM writes a PO to the insulation supplier for job 26-014, priced from the supplier's sheet, and emails it before lunch.
- Wednesday, 7:15 a.m.
Most of the order arrives at the site. The receipt goes in with the packing slip number. Two rolls of bands came crushed, so they are marked damaged.
- Wednesday afternoon
The PO shows Partially Received. The office can see the jacketing and fitting covers still on back order without phoning the branch.
- Friday
The rest of the order shows up with another PO from the same supplier. One shipment, one receiving pass, both POs updated.
What material costs without purchase orders
When orders go out by phone and text, the only record is the supplier's invoice, and it shows up weeks after the material did.
- Nobody on site knows what was ordered, so short shipments are found when the crew runs out.
- Damaged material gets signed for and paid for in full.
- Back orders live in someone's inbox, and the job waits on a phone call.
- The job finds out what material cost when the bill lands, long after it could change anything.
Construction purchase order software: common questions
Can a PO deliver straight to the job site?
Yes. Turn on Deliver to Job Site and the PO points the delivery at the job. When it is received, the good quantity of each catalog item is recorded as material issued to that job, at the actual unit cost entered on the receipt or the PO price. Otherwise, pick an inventory location such as a warehouse or van, and receiving adds the stock there.
What happens to damaged material?
Enter the damaged quantity on the receipt. Appello only posts the good quantity to the job or to inventory, and the damaged amount stays open on the line's back order. The receipt keeps the packing slip number and notes for the conversation with the supplier, and you can give the back order a new expected delivery date.
How is a supplier PO different from a material order?
A material order is the field asking for material on a job, with a required-by date. A supplier PO is what you send the supplier to buy it, with prices, delivery and receiving. Both live in Appello's Materials & Inventory module.
Purchase orders, on your own jobs
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